(b)lines Ask the Experts – What Is Gamification?

“I pretended to know
what she was talking about, but, in reality, I did not have a clue! What is
gamification and should I care?”

Michael A. Webb, vice
president, Cammack Retirement Group, answers:

The
Experts are not terribly surprised that you have not heard of the term, as it
is a little-used, yet cutting-edge, concept in retirement plan communication.
If you would guess that it has something to do with games, you would be
correct.

Gamification
is the use of game concepts/processes in non-game contexts to engage users. In
retirement plans, the context is using games to attempt to influence
participants to take appropriate actions, such as enrolling in the plan or
increasing one’s savings to the plan. The thinking is that many individuals spend
more time playing computer games than thinking about retirement, so merging the
two may motivate participants who would otherwise not pay attention to their
retirement plans at all. In short, it is an effort to make planning for
retirement fun!

A
handful of recordkeepers have rolled out such games in an effort to engage participants.
Will gamiifcation work? Only time will tell, but it is promising to see that
entities are thinking outside the box in an effort to address the longstanding
problem of lack of retirement plan engagement among employees.

Thank
you for your question!

NOTE:
This feature is to provide general information only, does not constitute
legal advice, and cannot be used or substituted for legal or tax advice.